Flexible Electro-Driven Nanophotonic Device for Dynamic Radiative Thermoregulation and Energy Storage

Dynamic thermal management is useful for maintaining personal thermal comfort. However, integrating multifunctionalities into flexible thermal management device remains challenging. Inspired by color modulation mechanisms of cephalopod skin, we demonstrate a flexible electro-driven nanophotonic (FEN) device with dual-functionalities of dynamic radiative thermoregulation and all-time energy supply. Flexibility is achieved by depositing nanoscaled silicon film onto a flexible nanoporous separator. High IR emissivity regulation from 0.85 (cooling mode) to 0.19 (heating mode) at 8-13 μm is achieved, accompanied by an apparent temperature modulation of 13 °C. Besides, integrated energy storage performance shows a superior areal capacity of ∼0.35 mAh cm^-2 and a Coulombic efficiency of ∼70%. Additionally, we propose a tunable mechanism of electro-optical-thermal conversion via the reversible insertion/extraction of lithium ions in silicon film. We believe that such flexibility and multifunctionality will position our FEN device as a versatile platform for next-generation personal thermal management, energy storage systems, and information encryption technologies.